Vatican City, Feb 11, 2010 / 15:57 pm
The president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, marking the end of the full assembly of this department of the Holy See, called for vigilance and responsibility in protecting minors on Wednesday. He also spoke of the importance of a stable marriage between a man and woman to the child's future.
In his closing remarks for the congress, which was themed "The Rights of the Child," Cardinal Antonelli spoke of many activities that violate the rights of children today, reported Vatican Radio. He listed the use of children as soldiers, the involvement of children in organ transplants, domestic abuse, kidnapping, malnutrition, drugs, prostitution and pedophilia as among the most dramatic and serious abuses.
Citing statistics that draw a correlation between family life and certain risks to children, the prelate underscored that the role of the family is of vital importance to a child's future. He said that "so much is said of the rights of adults; it's time to give the priority to the rights of children."
This question doesn't include the “rights” of adults to have or not have children, Cardinal Antonelli underscored, but it's about "the right of the child to have a father and a mother that love each other and love him or her, to grow up together with them" or be adopted by a couple comprised of a man and a woman.